Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies have been my favorite pre-packaged store-bought dessert since I was a kid. My sister braved walking through an 8-lane highway to buy some at the closest grocery store when we were children. These things are so good but the older I get the more they taste like chemicals. Maybe it’s my old age or maybe the quality has declined. Not to be worried, this homemade version tastes better yet still holds all the nostalgia.
The oatmeal cookies are based on Sally’s Baking Addiction’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. My version omitted the chocolate chips, cut back on chill time, made bigger cookies and also cut back on cook time. Still, not enough to not give the queen her due honor. This cookie is absolutely delicious. The cinnamon and molasses in the recipe brings depth and warmth to the flavor of the cookie. The texture is soft and chewy with a slight crisp edge. By cutting back on the bake time and allowing the cookie to finish baking on the hot cookie sheet outside of the oven you get even more chew. And if there’s one thing an oatmeal creme pie is known for, it’s the chewy texture.
I came up with the cream center by making s’mores several summers ago. I’m not a big graham cracker fan, so I baked a batch of these oatmeal cookies up to use as the base to the s’mores. The melty marshmallow oozing out of the cookies made me think of oatmeal creme pies. So when I was coming up with the center to these cookies, I knew I wanted to use marshmallow fluff. You have to microwave the fluff it to make it easier to work. Only microwave ten seconds at a time. You want it workable, not runny. Adding vanilla bean paste and a pinch of salt gives the fluff even better flavor. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract will work. Once the cookies get their cream center you can dig in. Just have napkins nearby because these can get messy!
Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 1/2 c flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 c salted butter (2 sticks) softened
- 1 c light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 c sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 c whole rolled oats
Cream Center
- 7 oz marshmallow fluff
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk until fully combined. Set aside.
- Beat butter for 1 minute on high speed until light in color.
- Add brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat for 2 minutes on high. Scrape the bowl and beat until well combined and fluffy.
- Add eggs, vanilla and molasses. Beat until incorporated. Scrape the bowl and beat again.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet on low speed. Stop mixing once everything is incorporated. Scrape the bowl and beat once more.
- Add the oats and mix on low until combined.
- Cover and chill for thirty minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a standard ice cream scoop create scoop-size cookies. Flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Bake 8 at a time on a half-size sheet pan for 11 minutes in the middle rack. Bake in rounds.
- Leave cookies on the hot sheet pan to continue cooking. Remove once cooled to room temperature.
- For the filling, microwave the fluff in 10 second intervals until the cream is workable and you can easily remove it from the container. You don't want it super runny or else it will ooze out of the cookies.
- Beat fluff with a pinch of salt and vanilla bean paste (you can substitute vanilla if you don't have it). Once combined put in a plastic ziploc bag and cut the tip.
- Fill the middle of half of the cookies with the fluff and top with the remaining cookies.
- Enjoy or store in an air tight container.